The Pack
by Laughing Jackdaw
Summary: About an Anbu-team that doesn't really do anything besides bugging each other, completing missions behind the scenes, and getting injured and having to stay in the hospital. There's nothing more to it than that. Kakashi, Genma, Raido and Tenzou - The Hokage is still wondering why he likes them.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one - A house**

"Run!" The order was loud and clear, and the team flew off, jumping through the trees.

Branches grazed their dark coats and tore through the fabric, leaving glaring holes.  
The men were thankful for the protecting masks and light armour – an escape would be quick, and scratches and other small casualties caused by branches would stay out of the picture.

One smaller Anbu-agent with a porcelain cat-mask that covered his face dared to look back and saw how their captain was speeding up, his red scarf whirling around him as he shot forwards.

The explosion-tags were set off, and a stone building behind him split apart. Pieces of rock and debris, burning paper and ashes were thrown into the direction of the fleeing team as it exploded, and the young captain instinctively shielded his head with his arms.

One sharp splinter of wood cut the forearm of a ninja who wore the crow-mask, and he was quickly assisted by a teammate with the mask of a boar, who grasped his shoulder and steadied him.

As one tree fell down, they were almost sure the ground underneath them was cracking apart too.

Such was the power of the hundreds of explosion-tags they'd planted in the tunnels and buildings.

Cat heard the branch he was standing on snap before he felt it. He launched himself to the base of the tree, and used it to get to another branch before he  
would fall down. Crow looked backwards, and nodded to Cat as he landed next to him.  
The three of them, Cat, Crow and Boar now jumped at the same speed, waiting for their captain to catch up with them to take the lead.

The captain, with his long red scarf and wolf mask, flew past, easily landing in front of the trio, and signalled to his team to keep up the same speed. Then he put his hand in his pouch and threw out a small roll of grey bandages – it must've been white once, but in this line of work it was hard to keep things clean.  
Boar caught it in one fluid motion, and passed it on to Cat, who quickly wound it around Crow's injured arm. The smaller Anbu put the left-over bandages into his own pouch, planning to return them to his captain later.

After they'd passed a small stream with clear water, Wolf signalled to his team to slow down to find a place to rest. They were miles away from the destroyed buildings, and in safe territory. The team was in the area where more Anbu-teams were stationed, and they were past the patrol-borders now.  
The sun was setting already and the four of them were tired and getting hungry.  
When they found a small clearing, they halted.

Crow immediately untied his mask and threw it in the grass, "Gah, that was quite an explosion, wasn't it?" He put a senbon in his mouth, "My ears are still ringing."

Boar laughed, and took off his mask too.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault I got hit by that piece of wood!" Genma, who was known as Crow, said, and he threw another senbon at Raido. The man with the burn-scar, who called himself Boar, easily avoided the needle and grinned, "I didn't even say anything!"  
Genma huffed and sank to his feet, kicking his porcelain mask a few metres away, "Hn. Piss off, will you? Now it's time to relax." And he laid down onto his back, letting out a breath.

"Guys, I don't think we should take off our masks already, we haven't been given the signal yet…" Cat said carefully, scratching the back of his head.

"It's no big deal," Raido said as he patted Cat on his back, "Captain doesn't really care about the rules." And the taller man pointed to the back, where their captain was leaning against a tree – the mask was placed on the left side of his head, obscuring his eye.

"Senpai!" Cat shouted, "T-that's –"

"It's no big deal, Tenzou." Kakashi mumbled as he stretched his arms, "Take off your mask and breath in some fresh air." This was ironic, since it was coming from a man whose lower part of his face was still covered by a mask made of fabric.

Tenzou's shoulders slumped as he took off the cat-mask and tied it around his hip, "Geez, Kakashi-senpai, you're insufferable."

"Maa, can you make us a small house – nothing fancy, but I'd like a roof above my head tonight."

Genma sprang up when the silver-haired captain said that, "Really? You'll make us a house, Tenzou-_kun_?"  
He forgot his arm was still injured, and winced in pain as he put too much weight on it.

The wood-user sighed, and shot his senior a look, "Can't you just put up the tents or something?"

Raido smiled sweetly at Tenzou, who didn't like the look of it, "We would really like you to build us a house, Tenzou. Why won't you -"  
"And I'm injured!" Genma waved his injured arm, "I need something better than a lousy tent!"

The younger, brown-haired man pursed his lips as he answered, "No."

"Aw, come on! Just this once!"

"No."

Both Genma and Raido kept pestering Tenzou to grow a house for them, and the wood-user was getting more irritated every time they asked. He was about to silence them by hanging them upside down a tree-branch – grown by him, especially made for them – when Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder.

The captain wasn't much taller than Tenzou was, but he carried a certain air of authority, and the two bugging Anbu stopped talking immediately.

"Leave him. If he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to. It was a simple question, not an order."

Tenzou smiled at his senpai, whose eye curved into a happy arc.

Kakashi then walked back to the tree he'd been leaning against, and sighed, barely audible, "… Ah, I think I miscalculated the amount of chakra again… I'm quite tired…"

The younger Anbu heard it though, and finally realized the reason of Kakashi's request. If a bordering chakra-exhaustion was the cause, then of course he would be willing to grow them a house!

"Kakashi-senpai, I think I'll grow us that house after all… The air feels quite chilly, doesn't it?" Tenzou said, and he formed the seals.

Kakashi blinked a few times and answered, "I guess it does."

Genma and Raido watched with their mouths wide open as wood suddenly started to grow, to change and shift shapes. Within a minute, a small house was standing in the middle of the clearing, and Tenzou was sitting on the ground, panting slightly, "All done!"

Raido helped Genma up, and they went inside. Exclamations of awe and joy could be heard outside, and their obvious respect for Tenzou's ability made the younger Anbu smile.

The captain sat down next to him, "Nice work, Tenzou. You really didn't have to."

The wood-user shook his head, grinning slightly, "Next time, I'll let you build us a house."

To see that lone eye curve in happiness was totally worth the effort of using his jutsu.

**A/N: Hello everyone,  
Thank you for reading, I hope you were able to enjoy yourself even a little. This will be my first multi-chapter story, and I do have to admit I'm quite nervous to write it.  
This story will be a recollection of _mundane_ tales - nothing fancy, nothing with a real plot. There won't be anything that's really special about this. It isn't about romance, it isn't about a great adventure or dark pasts. It's about doing ordinairy things, which aren't really worth writing, but I simply couldn't help myself...  
Please feel free to point out mistakes in both the writing and the characterization - I'm still learning after all.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Water**

Genma frowned, "I guess we're out of water… That means no cooking and no cleaning my wound…"  
He shook the canteen and held it upside down, but it really was empty.

Raido groaned, "No, not again those ration-bars! I've eaten enough of them during these godforsaken weeks!"

"We need water though. Tomorrow, we have to travel far, and I don't want any of us to dehydrate – nor do I want you to die of an infection before we reach home." Kakashi said, tossing Genma a bored, but patronizing look as the honey-haired man stuck out his tongue.  
The Hatake stood up, "I'll go to the stream we passed. Hold the fort while I am away."

Before he could leave the wooden house, Tenzou blocked the doorway, "There's no way you're going to leave, Kakashi-senpai."

Everyone stared at the younger shinobi.

"I'll go and get water, you should rest." With that, Tenzou had disappeared outside before any of them could react.

By the time the wood-used returned, the other team members had already started a fire, and were baking some meat in a small pan.  
Kakashi's pack of dogs was circling around their boss, and the silver-haired man waved at Tenzou as he came in.  
"Don't worry, I didn't go out myself – my dogs caught the deer, I didn't do anything." Kakashi said.

Genma smiled at Tenzou when the wood-user sat down next to him with a sigh. The honey-haired man chewed on his senbon and handed the younger Anbu a plate, "It won't be long."

Soon, the team of four and the dogs were eating. The firelight lighted the house with a pleasant, warm glow. It was the first time in days they had a fire and a good, hot meal, and everyone was happy the mission was accomplished. The team cracked a few jokes, and Genma – as he was the most talkative of the team – told them about all of his female friends.  
The dogs yipped and sometimes joined in with the talk – especially when there was a chance to embarrass Kakashi - but most of the time they stayed silent and begged their master for more food.

"We should go to sleep," Kakashi stated after a while, "Tomorrow we'll have to run like the devil is on our heels if we don't want to pass the deadline of our mission."  
Raido coughed and sounded an awful lot like 'like you care about being late' when he did so, but Kakashi ignored it, "We'll leave at 6.00. I'll take first watch."

Tenzou bit his lip, and in a bold moment, he picked up Bull,the most heavy and large dog of the pack, and dropped the dog right on top of the captain. (How the young Anbu managed to do that is still considered a miracle.)

"_You_ should _rest_. I'll take first watch."

Kakashi eyed his underling with suspicion, and resigned himself to his fate when he noticed that Bull was already vast asleep, and therefore almost impossible to move away.  
The other dogs grinned wolfishly, and Tenzou was happy when they moved to lie next to their boss. Bisuke licked Tenzou's hand before he went to sleep, and the wood-user was touched by this rare moment of affection. Pakkun though was clearly frowning at him, and barked out something about brats and not knowing their place in a pack.

Raido and Genma laid down on their bed-rolls too, bidding Tenzou a good night. Before closing his eyes Raido said, "Don't tire yourself too much, and wake me when your shift is over."

Tenzou nodded, and looked at the fire, extending his senses.

After a couple of hours, and two shifts later, Genma was kneeling by the captain to wake him up.

"Captain, it's your turn, get up." The honey-haired man said, careful not to wake up Tenzou or Raido in the process.  
The silver-haired captain sat up, glad Bull was finally gone. The eight dogs were all staring at him, their eyes illuminating in the light of the small fire.

"Thank you, Genma."

The man rolled his senbon in his mouth, "I can go to sleep safely, right? If something happens, you should wake me up though."

"You should rest more with that hurt arm of yours. If I'm not mistaken, your shift should've ended about an hour ago."

"Bullshit, I'll be alright, rest or no rest." After a beat, " …How do you know about the time my shift ended anyway?"

"Go to sleep, you're nagging."

"Tch. Ungrateful bastard." Before Genma's head touched the bed-roll, he was already asleep.

Kakashi stretched his arms and craned his neck. He stood up and went to sit next to the fire, the dogs following him.  
He took a deep breath and sniffed slightly as he breathed in the smoke of the smouldering fire. With a stick, he poked it a few times, and stood up again.  
He walked towards the door and breathed in the night air.

Much better.

"Pup, you should stay inside." Pakkun said, his voice gruff. Kakashi nodded, and walked back to his place by the fire. He scratched Guruko's back as he stared at the dancing flames.

"They're nice kids, Kakashi. They like you." The dog said as he nuzzled Kakashi's hand, begging for more touches.

"They're my age, with exception of Tenzou that is. They're not kids anymore, and neither am I." Kakashi added as he gave Pakkun a stern look.

"That Tenzou-boy adores you, be careful not to hurt this team too much." The pug said, and soon he too tried to get the attention of Kakashi's affectionate hands, "You've found yourself a new pack."

"I have." The Hatake said, "Genma, Tenzou, Raido and I, we're like a pack, huh? I like the sound of that."

**A/N: Alright, this was chapter two. I hope you liked it - if there's anything I could do better, please tell me. I hope I didn't dissapoint anyone with this chapter.  
To all of you who reviewed, favorited and follow it: Thank you! I'm very glad you liked it so far!  
In reply to 'Inolover': I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. These four are quite amazing - they're just fun!**

Thank you for reading this story!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Flashlights and Uchiha**

It was a beautiful day in Konohagakure no Sato.

On days off after a tiring mission, Tenzou loved wandering around in the village. His feet would just take him somewhere, and there was no destination, just walking. He liked watching both people and nature, and perhaps his feet would lead him to the park today.  
Perhaps.

Genma would probably be out buying a bouquet of flowers to apologize to some female who broke up with him after he stayed away for too long, and Raido might be sparring, trying out his fire-jutsu again. Kakashi-senpai would probably be at the memorial, or hang out with the strange, green-clad chuunin with bowl-cut hair and huge eyebrows, like usual.  
Tenzou grinned at the thought of Kakashi's bothered look when Guy – was that his name? – ran around the corner when they arrived at the gates. It served the captain well for letting Tenzou do all the work after sweet talking him into it.

The Third had been very pleased with the outcome of their mission, and granted the hard-working team a week's rest before they would receive a new mission. If the Hokage followed the usual protocol without being gracious, they would be send on a new mission tomorrow, since Genma's injury wasn't much of a problem. But now they had the week off, and Tenzou was glad the mission paid well – he even had some money left to spend on useless stuff.  
Maybe he could buy himself a nice scarf, like the red one senpai owned.  
With this in mind, his feet brought him to a nearby store – how he knew where it was, Tenzou did not know, maybe it had something to do with the First Hokage's DNA, but he wasn't too sure of that.

His eyes fell on a woolly dark-green scarf. It would keep him warm on a cold day, and it would look good on him too, the shopkeeper said to him. When the wood-user was about to buy the green garment, he saw a nice, shiny-looking flashlight for sale. On impulse, he bought the flashlight instead, not entirely sure why, but incredibly pleased with himself.

"Have a nice day!" Tenzou said to the shopkeeper, and he left the shop. He twirled his new purchase around, like he usually did with a kunai.

As he walked around the corner, he saw Genma walking with another pretty woman, trying to woo her with his charms.  
A devious plan formed in Tenzou's head, and he quickly hid himself behind a tree, waiting for the couple to pass by.  
When Genma and his 'lady of interest' walked by, Tenzou came out from behind the tree, flashlight on and held beneath his chin. He gave Genma the most scary look he could muster, and watched how the Special-chuunin jumped up and yelped in fear.  
The woman stared at Tenzou before starting to run as fast as she could, screaming something about Kodama's.

"Geez, Tenzou? Really?" Genma said as he realized it was his teammate with a flashlight in his hand.  
The younger man grinned, "Gotcha." He switched his new toy off, and felt extremely courageous today, "Why don't we go and find Raido? He might like a little surprise?"

A grin split Genma's face, and he completely forgot about his future date, "Yeah, why don't we? Let's go."  
This ordeal didn't end very well, and Raido tried to burn them with the jutsu he was experimenting with. In the end, none of them got hurt, and the trio decided to scare their captain shitless – that would be an amazing sight, since Kakashi showed as much emotion as a teaspoon. Which meant, none. Except when on the battlefield that its.

The team minus one were already enjoying themselves, and extended their senses to find the Hatake. Raido even activated some of the chakra-sensors in the village to find the elusive captain, who was most likely on the run for Maito Gai – so that was the name of the green-clad chuunin – and not easy to find.  
"I got a signal!" Raido practically shouted, "He's near the shrine!" Not wasting any time, the three Special-chuunin teleported away, eager to find their team leader.

* * *

"I don't see why we should leave dirt like you walk around on the streets. You're contaminating the village – we do not need scum like you here."

"As far as I can see, Hokage-sama is trying to keep me around. Your sources must be wrong, Uchiha-san."

Kakashi was not intimidated at all. Two Uchiha of the Police-force were trying to corner him, and were unsuccessful. The insults didn't hurt that much anymore, he'd gotten used to it by now. Of course, he understood their need to blame someone _(Like he blamed himself too)_but he heard enough whispers when he was around, and didn't feel up for a confrontation today.

A single white lily in his hand was meant for the grave of the friends he'd lost, to apologize for being gone for so long.

And the two Uchiha were in his way.

The tallest Uchiha – who Kakashi dubbed as Spike in his head, because the Uchiha had very, very spiky hair – activated his Sharigan and glared at the silver-haired man.  
Kakashi was still not intimidated. He saw a Sharigan spinning in its socket every time looked in the mirror.  
Glaring at people was one of his own specialities as well, one he tried not to use as often anymore, and the Hatake mused if he could out-glare an Uchiha.

'Spike' was glaring even more vicious, and the shorter Uchiha, who had a huge collar that almost obscured his face, was grimacing in silent – but quite obvious – anger. Kakashi wondered if 'Collar' would be a nice nickname. 'Collar' and 'Spike' – it almost sounded dog-like.  
How funny.

"How dare you!" 'Collar' growled (it was getting hilarious now), "How dare you to ignore an Uchiha!"

Kakashi snapped back into reality, "Ah? Where you saying something?"

Both Uchiha were glaring, Sharingans blazing.

The silver-haired man knew it wasn't a good idea to challenge them like this, but he couldn't stop himself. He didn't want a confrontation, but he wouldn't go down without at least a little of a fight. Metaphorically speaking, of course, because if the Uchiha would attack him, he'd probably avoid them and teleport home, where they couldn't follow him.  
He didn't want to meet Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the clan, again.

"You _trash_." 'Spike' spat, "You should've died, go and follow your coward of a father, _disgrace_."  
Maybe that stung a little, and Kakashi decided he had enough fun today.

With a semi-smile (it was not like the dark-haired men could see underneath his masks with those red eyes) Kakashi clapped in his hands, the flower bending slightly, and said in a chipper voice, "Well, it was nice meeting you today, but you've wasted enough of my time. See ya." The Anbu-captain teleported past the glaring cousins and resumed his walk to the memorial.

It didn't exactly go as planned, but he managed to piss off two Police-force members without getting some kind of penalty. That had to count as something, right?

When Kakashi felt a twig hit his head, he sighed. The Uchiha weren't done with him yet, and had resorted to more childish ways of making their dislike of him known.

The Hatake turned around, and caught a small rock before it hit him. With the help of a small amount of chakra, he pulverized the stone and let the wind blow away the dust from his hand, "You wanted to say more?"

'Collar' seemed intimidated, but 'Spike' not so very much. The taller Uchiha bared his teeth, like a real dog would do before attacking, and Kakashi didn't feel up for more trouble. 'Spike' charged at him before the silver-haired man could hold up his hands in the universal gesture of 'peace'.  
His attacker threw a punch at him, and Kakashi tried to block it. The Uchiha saw the movement coming with his Sharingan, and changed direction from his face to his stomach.  
Kakashi tried not to double over from the impact, and grabbed 'Spike's' arm instead. He twisted the limb and held it in a wrist lock.  
It was a technique Obito'd always tried to use against him, but it had never worked. Kakashi then found a way to utilize it, and a writhing Uchiha on the ground, unable to move without feeling like his wrist would be torn off, was the result.

Kakashi smiled down at his opponent. He looked up at 'Collar' who was too stunned to react, and he threw the white lily towards him, "Catch."  
The Uchiha caught it clumsily.  
Kakashi released 'Spike's' wrist, and the spiky-haired man fell on his knees, cradling his abused arm. Kakashi's lone eye curved up in an arc, and he saluted for the two cousins, "Send your family my regards. _See ya_."  
When 'Spike' looked up, the silver-haired man had already vanished in a cloud of leaves and smoke.

Tenzou, Raido and Genma didn't pay any attention to the very tousled-looking Uchiha as they passed by.  
"He's gone already!" Raido said when they finally arrived at the shrine, "He hasn't even been in here!"

"Maybe he used a Shadow-clone to avoid someone?" Tenzou tried, "Perhaps he used it as a bait to lure Gai away from the real him?"

The others nodded, and they left the shrine, unhappy with their unfinished prank.

**A/N:**** Hello those who may concern it, I hope you enjoyed reading the story so far. I decided to try writing Kakashi's point of view, but I found myself very troubled with it... I really hope it's not OOC... I hope this chapter was at least something near a good read and that I did not wast too much of your time as well.  
Anyway, to everyone who reviewed ch. 2 - Thank you so very much for your kind words! I will reply to all of you, but at the moment I'm a little busy... But the answers will come fast, I promise!**

Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four - Hokage's punishment**

The Third Hokage chewed on the tip of his pipe as he looked at the two men in front of his desk.

Uchiha Fugaku and Hatake Kakashi had always been a problem. Fugaku-sama because he liked to make his own rules and was responsible for the Police-force, and Kakashi-kun because he was stubborn and emotionally challenged.

Most of the time, when these two were in the office simultaneously, it was because one of the Uchiha-clan members was having a problem with Kakashi. The Hatake could be really annoying, and rude too, but the Uchiha had the tendencies to nag _and nag and nag _about everything, especially when the problem was centred around a certain white-haired jounin.

"What happened this time?" The Third sighed. Neither of the men spoke.

"Kakashi-kun, what did you do?"

The silver-haired man shrugged, and closed his lone eye, "I have no idea, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage then looked at Fugaku, "Fugaku-sama, what did he do now?"

The tall man stepped forwards, his voice polite and stern, "Hatake-san has insulted and hurt two of my clan-members. Again."

The Third saw Kakashi slouch in the corner of his eye, and watched in interest as the Hatake pulled out a familiar orange book, which was actually the same as the gift the Hokage had received himself about two weeks ago, from Jiraiya with love.  
Kakashi must've picked up a copy when he was away on his previous mission, seeing the book only just came out last week.

"Kakashi, pay attention. This matter is concerning you." The old man said, fighting to keep fondness out of his voice – Fugaku-sama wouldn't appreciate a kind treatment this time.

Kakashi snapped the book shut, and gave both the clan-head and the leader of the village a bored stare, "…I understand."

Fugaku straightened his back even more, and started speaking again, "Hokage-sama, with all respect, but don't you think it's time to tell Hatake-san where he stands? He most certainly needs to know his place as it seems he is very unaware of his position."

"I'm pretty aware of where I'm standing, thank you very much, Uchiha-sama. Actually, we're in front of Hokage-sama's desk-"

"Kakashi-kun, be respectful."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I apologize, Uchiha-sama, I did not mean to insult your pride." The Anbu-captain and clan-head then managed to have a stare down.  
The Third sighed again when he felt a hidden wave of silent rage wash over him. Fugaku was very displeased, but at least polite enough not to show it _openly_.

The Hokage cleared his throat after pondering the matter for a few minutes, not even asking what happened or what kind of damage was done. "Hatake Kakashi, I hereby… Put down that book and listen to me, or I will suspend you longer than a week and all the missions you will get in the next two months will be C-rank missions." It was an empty threat – Konoha was pretty much economically depending on the hard work of Team Wolf – but it showed Uchiha-sama that the Hokage was regarding this matter with the uttermost importance.

* * *

"Captain, what in the world did you do to land yourself in this fucked up situation? I mean, seriously, having to teach a bunch of overeager, twelve-year-old, wannabe-ninjas is the job of those paperwork-nin, right? They've been trained to handle brats."  
Genma waved his hands to emphasize his statement, "And has the Hokage gone crazy or something? You'll, like, kill those kiddos or slaughter their teacher in front of their eyes - you've never been the most social creature in the world – and what if they're going to make those 'Old-man'-jokes again? You'll go insane in there!"

Raido placed his hand on Genma's shoulder to calm him down, "Don't be that agitated. Kakashi's been through worse, and the Academy isn't that bad, ya know?"

"Have you never been in there? It's crazy I tell you!"

"Genma, remember the very place we started our career as shinobi? We were like those children too, long ago. Perhaps it's a good thing Kakashi's going there, to open up their eyes to the real world, to the death and pain they're going to face in the future."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and leaned against a nearby tree, "I'm not going to teach them that. All I am supposed to do is tell them about a strategy of some kind, it won't be life-changing. It'll just be one hour, and then I'm free to go."

Genma tried to grasp Kakashi's hand, but the silver-haired man put his hands in his pockets and slouched lazily as the honey-haired man continued to rant, "Kakashi-kun! You did not deserve such a severe punishment!"

"… Where's your senbon?" The masked shinobi remarked after regarding Genma for a few seconds, "Is that the reason you're anxious?"

"I'm not anxious." Genma answered too fast. Raido raised an eyebrow, "Don't lie to us, you've been tense the whole day and the fact that you just started rambling to the captain about the evils of Academy-students does not exactly help you at the moment."

"I. Am. Not. Anxious."

"No, of course not." Raido squeezed Genma's shoulder empathetically, "Just a little unbalanced."

Genma huffed, "You've got a senbon with you? Or a cigarette? A lollipop? Anything?"

Kakashi searched his pockets and pulled out a cigarette, "Take it."

Genma took it – were his hands shaking? – and he put it into his mouth with a smile so wide it was bordering on insanity, "Thanks mate. I owe you."  
Everyone had their coping-systems, and to Genma small comfort came in the form a piece of sharpened wood. But for now an unlit cigarette was good enough.

"The cigarette was from last border patrol, it was yours anyway. I don't smoke, never have."  
_  
'Then why did you take it?'_went unsaid, but up till now, no one had been able to fully understand the way Hatake's genius-brain functioned.

Kakashi patted Genma on his back and started walking very slowly into the direction of the Academy. Raido watched the retreating figure of his superior, and when he disappeared around a corner, the scarred man guided his friend away, "Alright, where do you think you lost your senbon… and why don't you have any spares or something?"

* * *

"Kakashi-senpai!" Tenzou pushed his way through the crowd, "Wait! Where are you going?"

The silver-haired man simply shrugged and lowered his pace, waiting for Tenzou to catch up with him, "Nowhere in particular, Tenzou."

The wood-user stopped right in front of his captain, shot him an intimidating look and placed his hands on his hips, "I heard from Shukaku-san that you angered two Uchiha cousins yesterday, or was it the other way around and are they blaming you again?"  
Tenzou didn't give Kakashi a chance to speak up – knowing the other man would change the subject. The wood-user kept on talking, voicing his concern about the silver-haired man's behaviour and telling him that he would always have his back in trouble.

As he was doing so Kakashi was staring past him with a far-off look in his eye. The brown-haired man sincerely hoped Kakashi was seriously regarding his words, but it became clear he wasn't when he interrupted Tenzou mid-rant.

"Hey, have you ever been to that teahouse? I can't remember ever seeing it here – do you think it's new?"

"S-senpai! Why don't you ever listen to me?" The younger man growled. Kakashi was getting on his nerves with his ever-changing words and carelessness, "Can't you see it's not just you who is involved in this situation?"

Tenzou hated prejudice and unfairness with a fiery passion - he used to be the victim of many ill-spoken words and unfair treatment himself, before he joined Kakashi's Anbu-team and found friends he could trust (who then silently took out every person who dared to speak of him as 'Orochimaru's labrat' as soon as they found out about the bullying.)  
He knew how terrible being subjected to Konoha's gossip mill was from experience, and the fact that Kakashi's little fight with the two Uchiha cousins was the talk of the town made his blood boil. How dare those arrogant Uchiha! They had no right to -!

"Tenzou." Kakashi's calm voice broke him out of his reverie. The brown-haired man looked up.

"It isn't your business. You're not involved and will not get involved, get it?" Kakashi was serious. It was an order.

"Yes sir."

"Good," Kakashi's gaze softened, "but what about having some tea?"

* * *

Tenzou sighed contentedly after he finished his tea, "Thanks, Kakashi-senpai."

The older man stood up, "Well, I guess it's time to go."

"What kind of punishment did Hokage-sama have in mind? You haven't told me yet." The brown-haired man asked before Kakashi could turn away. Even though the relaxing smell and sweet taste of the tea had calmed him down, Tenzou was still feeling very uncomfortable with his captain's predicament.

"I simply have to lecture a bunch of Academy-students. It's short, and I'll get paid for it – though I'm not sure if Uchiha-san knows about the last part of the deal." Kakashi answered airily, "I got away with it quite well."

"When is it scheduled?"

The silver-haired man chuckled, "About half an hour ago, but I'll just say I treated a stressed comrade to some tea to calm him down before he could scare any innocent villagers or Uchiha with his flashlight." With a wave of his hand, he disappeared in a whirl of leaves and smoke, "See you around."

Tenzou shook his head with a smile, and he stood up too. When he was about to leave the teahouse, a waiter stopped him, "I'm sorry sir, but you haven't paid yet."

Next time Tenzou would see his superior, there would be a hell to pay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five - Academy-students**

When Kakashi opened the door to the lecture-hall of the Academy, he was greeted with probably one of the most ridiculous sights he'd ever witnessed.

One single chuunin-level teacher, who was on the brink of having an emotional breakdown, was trying to regain the attention of about _fifty_ over-zealous pre-genin.  
Twelve-year-old students were standing on top of the tables, throwing erasers and spit balls at each other, shouting at the top of their lungs to make sure their friends on the other side of the classroom could hear them too.

Kakashi sighed softly and tugged consciously at his mask, securing it was still safely covering his nose. The green jounin-vest he was wearing felt slightly heavy in comparison with the light armour he usually wore, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

The silver-haired captain decided it was time to make his presence known after checking his hitai-ate was properly covering his left eye (a nervous habit, one he'd never admit), and he politely cleared his throat.

After realizing the guest teacher had arrived at last, the Academy-teacher turned around and all but shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Seemingly, this loud exclamation was enough to gain the attention of some of the students, and they finally noticed the second figure standing in front of the chalkboard. The sound eased to only a loud buzz thorough the classroom. Who was that strange white-haired man? Was that supposed to be the guest teacher?

The chuunin's face was rapidly changing colour – from ghastly pale to beet-red, "YOU'RE LATE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BORED THESE KIDS ARE? DO YOU? _DO YOU?_"

Kakashi dismissed it with a nod, and he turned to the class. The children were regarding him with suspicion. Was this man supposed to an elite jounin?  
The Anbu-captain-in-jounin-vest laughed sheepishly, "Ah, I'm sorry I'm this late. One of my subordinates was very stressed and I offered him a cup of tea to stop him from going on a rampage and harassing innocent civilians with his flashlight…"

Fifty blank faces stared at him in disbelief.

Kakashi couldn't help but think it was funny, and he chuckled again. Then, he bowed curtly to the teacher as if greeting him, "If you don't mind, I would like to start my lecture. Please sit down, you don't look very well, chuunin-san."  
The poor Acedemy-teacher sank down upon his chair, resting his head on his hands.

Yesterday, the Third Hokage had personally told the chuunin about the lecture Hatake-san was going to give, and the old leader had told him to be prepared for irresponsible behaviour that could be expected of said jounin. The teacher never imagined that 'irresponsible behaviour' would mean 'extreme tardiness'.  
Oh, well. At least the guest teacher was here now, and the lecture could begin.

Kakashi leaned against the large desk and started toying with a white crayon, "Alright, does anyone have any idea what I am supposed to teach you guys?"

The hands of some wannabe-ninjas went up, but one boy disrupted the serene air by shouting, "Are you old or what? I bet you had problems going down the stairs with your sore back, Old man!" The boy's friends started encouraging him (and throwing chewing gum at each other), and soon everything was back to the chaos had been was before Kakashi'd walked in.

The chuunin stood up, ready to shout at his students once again, but Kakashi pushed him back into his chair, "Let me handle this – I'm in charge now, understand?"  
Without any other word, the silver-haired man chucked the crayon he had been toying with at the boy who'd started all of this. The crayon crashed into the wall, missing the boy's head just barely. A thin line of white chalk on his cheek was all the evidence needed of an almost-assault on his life, and he was silenced immediately.

Again the classroom was hushed. Every student was regarding the jounin with fear and something akin to awe, but Kakashi wasn't entirely sure of the last one.

Kakashi smiled, and he resumed in a chipper voice, "Great, now I've got your attention we can start. Do I need to repeat the question or-?"

"Y-you were going to tell us about the 'Furinkazan-strategy', mister." A girl with pigtails said with a slight tremor in her voice.

… Ah, had the trick with the crayon been a little too much?  
Good.

"Exactly!" Kakashi grinned as he wrote 'Furinkazan' in sloppy characters on the board, "Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain."  
"_Move as swift as the Wind, be as silent as the Forest, attack as fierce as Fire, and defend as strong as the Mountain."_ He quoted as if he'd repeated the words countless of times before.  
"This is one of the basics of the ninja-life. When you are on a mission, you'll have to be fast, be silent, strike hard, and defend strongly in order to complete the mission. Remember these words, and you know how to work in the field. Yet-" Kakashi stopped talking to let the importance of this statement sink in, "-knowing this alone will not be enough. You will have to _live _this in order to survive out there."

* * *

Tenzou sat down on a large branch. He flicked his flashlight on and off in irritation. All of his money was spend, and seeing he had the week off, there were no missions in store for him either. No matter how much Tenzou loved being at home, he absolutely hated doing nothing.

Okay, he could go to the library to read up on botany, or he could go for a walk, but he just didn't feel like doing any of that now. Of course he could go training, but there was no one to spar with, and being all alone was no fun either. Perhaps he could just go home and lay down – he felt a headache coming up, probably because he had been quite stressed a few hours ago.

Or he could just go to sleep right here and now, on the comfortable branch in the sun.

Well, at least that was an idea he liked.

Tenzou exhaled and relaxed. He closed his eyes and focussed on the sounds. Chirping birds, the murmur of the busy streets a few blocks away, rustling leaves. Just perfect for a little nap.

Slowly the wood-user drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Sadly enough he was to be disturbed way too soon for his liking.  
Raido practically slapped him awake when he didn't open his eyes soon enough. Tenzou resisted the urge to punch his teammate and settled for a very intelligent, "Huh?" instead.

The taller man didn't look very well, to be honest. Twigs and leaves and dirt covered his normally – when off a mission – clean hair, and his eyes were dark.

"Tenzou, we've got a problem."

When Genma joined his two comrades on the branch with an equal beaten-up look, Tenzou knew it was serious.

"What is going on, guys?"

"Something is on the loose. We've got to stop it before it can get to the captain."

"The Academy?"

"Yes. It's heading towards the Academy."

* * *

The hour of lecturing was nearing its end, and Hatake-san had shown the Academy-students a map of several old Konoha-strongholds and important roads. He'd told them about the tactical position and the importance of the environment for both attack and defence.

Even the chuunin-sensei was impressed. Hatake Kakashi looked like an unreliable man, but he had been able to capture the students' attention and was learning them things through cleverly asked questions and effective examples.

Hatake-san might look bored as hell, but it was obvious the silver-haired man in front of the chalkboard lived and breathed the very rules of battle he was explaining.  
It was that moment the chuunin-teacher realised he was dealing with an Anbu-agent. (Hokage-sama had been as kind to inform him of the matter, in case there would be an emergency and the guest teacher would be called away.)

"Alright, that was it. The hour is over, can I go now?" Kakashi asked the teacher.

It took the man a few seconds to realise he was being spoken to. He nodded quickly, trying not to show that he actually knew about the jounin's other job,

"Of course, you're free to go. You guys too, class."

The twelve-year-olds cheered and ran out of the room as fast as they could. Kakashi followed them, albeit at a less energetic pace.

When he was outside, he immediately felt something was wrong. Something was definitely off, but he couldn't place his finger on it…

Gai chose that moment to bounce at him with a loud cry, launching himself from a nearby tree. Kakashi, who had not foreseen this sneak attack, toppled over because of the sudden weight his Rival provided, and would've hit the ground if it wasn't for Tenzou's arms that caught him. Genma and Raido landed next to the young wood-user.  
Raido was rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, but we couldn't stop him once he found out you were here…"

Genma was positive Kakashi was glaring at them.

"My Rival!" Gai said, "I effectively used the Furinkazan you were talking so passionately about! I was even able to evade your team of Amazing Trackers – they were fast, but not fast enough for Konoha's Mighty Green Beast!" He boasted. Gai released Kakashi – whom was then helped up by Tenzou - and turned to the Academy-students who were staring in shock at the weird-clad man, "See? This is what Patience and the Power of Youth can accomplish! Heed the technique of the Furinkazan, and you shall be Victorious!"

Tenzou shaded his eyes with his hand, "He's making my headache worse. What an idiot."

Gai then aimed his happy smile at him, "You, my Rival's Hip Subordinate, were much of a Competitor! Striving to stop me from arriving here at these grounds with such a Power and Fierce Concentration is something I, Maito Gai, cannot help but Praise!" With that, the bushy-browed man glomped the wood-user.

Kakashi tried to pry Gai off his unlucky teammate - who was making his scary-face without the flashlight - but the green-clad ninja didn't seem to notice. "Gai, that's enough. You've already won this round – there's no need to drag my team into our rivalry."

Immediately Gai released the younger man after hearing these words, and he turned to Kakashi with tears streaming down his face, "My Dear Rival, don't be jealous – I shall never replace you! For we are Eternal Rivals!"

The captain sighed, "Whatever, Gai." And he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise as he turned to leave.

"Kakashi, wait for me!" The spandex-wearing jounin called after him. The silver-haired man waited for the other to catch up, and together the odd duo walked away.

The Academy-students must be scarred for life.

Tenzou certainly was.


End file.
